SOUTH AFRICAN CATERPILLARS 179 



for i)iipatioii. As far as our present experience goes, 

 this is most usually the case amongst the Psychidae, 

 Si/ntoniidae, Arctiidue, many Noctuldae and the sack- 

 bearing caterpillars of the Tincina. AVe can find these 

 under stones, on fences, posts, walls, amongst debris, in 

 cracks and crevices, etc. Hcjrialidae are found in tubes 

 underground, various of the smaller T'meids, Pyralids, 

 etc., in seeds and fruits, in plant-galls, etc. Others may 

 be found in ants' nests, and a termitophilous moth larva 

 of peculiar structure lives in the nests of the white-ant 

 Rli inotermes putorius. 



From a collector's point of view we may roughly di- 

 vide the caterpillars into two groups, those which are 

 conspicuous and those which live more or less concealed. 

 The former are usually such as are very hairy or of bright 

 coloration. It is hardly necessary to look for them as 

 we cannot fail to see them; they flaunt their colour in 

 one's face. It is to this group of caterpillars that the ma- 

 jority of the described and figured species belong, as the 

 collector, while really out for other insects, could not help 

 noticing them. They are usually distasteful to birds or 

 have some other disagreeable characteristics, and their 

 conspicuousness is generally a warning to leave them 

 alone. 



Not so with the other group which comprises the ma- 

 jority of the caterpillars. To detect them, careful 

 scrutiny is often necessary. The first important requisite 

 is to become familiar with the normal habitus of the 

 plants, so that anything strange in its aspect will at 

 once draw the attention. This rule, of course, does not 

 apply to the collecting of caterpillars only. A ragged 

 edge to a leaf, normally showing a smooth border, will 

 suggest a caterpillar hiding underneath; leaves folded, 

 curled or drawn together will make us think of a Tortricid, 

 Tineid, or, in the latter case also a Hesperid; a wilted 

 top to a branch may show the presence of a borer; a 

 sunken and discoloured spot on the stem of a tree may 

 betray the activity of a larva underneath; webbed frass 



